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Yellow Sky (Wellman, 1948)

A deathly straightforward western from director William A. Wellman, one that wastes Gregory Peck’s charm and an interesting minimalist set-up. Peck and his band of thieves come across a deserted mining town only to find out it’s last two inhabitants, tom boy Anne Baxter and her old grandpa hold the key to an active gold mine. Greed, passion, and good intentions get muddled together and the overall result is strikingly mediocre. Having seen other Wellman films packed with intensity, be it Public Enemy, The Ox-Bow Incident, or even Track of the Cat, it’s disappointing Yellow Sky harbors few moments of convincing drama and character. Just more of the same old genre traits.